The Cure for a Divided Heart

Once a year we halt our evening classes to have three nights of inspirational teaching on the deeper Christian life. This year we were pleased to receive Bill Ury (Ambassador of Holiness from the Salvation Army) as our speaker on the subject of “Biblical Holiness in the Church.” Our student body was required to view the online messages, but it was open to anyone. We were thrilled when over 500 additional viewers tuned in.

They were rich nights of solid teaching on the often-misunderstood subject of sanctification. During the Q&A segments many expressed their doubts, but at the same time expressed their longing to experience this deeper work of the Spirit.

After the week was over, one viewer wrote: “What precious teaching! This understanding of holiness renews hope in one’s search for the Holy Spirit. It has been pure, living water to my soul.” Another wrote, “Bill, I praise God for your life and for helping us to reflect on this subject with such wisdom and love.” These types of testimonies have been repeated over and over as Dan as read student response papers to the lectures.

One paper had this observation: “I read a book recently about idolatry and it showed me areas in my life that I had allowed to take God’s place.” As Bill taught on holiness as a relationship, God spoke powerfully to my heart, and I made a fresh commitment to make Christ central to my whole life. Praise God!”

The purpose of the “semana teológica” (theology week) is to prepare students’ hearts and minds for the semester; we praise God for how beautifully He did that.  

(By the way, the lectures are on YouTube, but there is a lag between sentences because each one had to be translated from English into Portuguese.)